Zoology and wildlife conservation

A size of ~1 AU for the radio source Sgr A* at the center of the Milky Way

Article Abstract:

Many results have proved that Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*)(super 4), an extremely compact radio source at the center of our Galaxy has a radio image of 3.5mm wavelength, demonstrating that its size is ~1AU, which provides strong evidence that Sgr A* is a supermassive black hole. The power-law relationship between wave-length and intrinsic size explicitly rules out explanations other than those emission models with stratified structure, which predict a smaller emitting region at a shorter radio wavelength.

Digitizing the universe

Article Abstract:

The Virgo Consortium, an international collaboration of computational astrophysicists, has adopted the best approach available to model the formation and evolution of galaxies and quasars in a representative volume of the universe. They used an ultra-high resolution simulation to follow in unprecedented detail the evolution of dark matter, invisible material that is the dominant source of gravity in the universe.

Light on a dark place

Article Abstract:

A strange source of radio waves in the constellation of Sagittarius was suspected of flagging the presence of a massive black hole at the center of our Galaxy. The sharpest images ever taken of matter around the probable black hole at the center of our Galaxy bring us within grasp of a crucial test of general relativity, a picture of the black hole's point of no return.